Operation Midnight Stroll
by neela
Summary: It is night at the starship Voyager, but somebody is still awake. And they are searching for something… [JC, PT]


_**Disclaimers: **I do not own the Trek universe; it all belongs to the gods of Paramount. I only borrowed their characters for fun._

**_Author's Note: _**_This is my second ST:VOY fic, longer than my first, but in my opinion, better. ^_^ Please review, and don't flame me for the grammatical errors…_

**_Summary:_**_ It is night at the starship Voyager, but somebody is still awake. And they are searching for something… J/C, P/T_

**_Rating: _**_G_

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**OPERATION MIDNIGHT STROLL**

_by neela_

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A shadow stepped silently down the corridors, peering around corners for any surprising and unwanted encounters. The sound of a door swishing open made the person stop dead, quickly stepping into the shadows and pressing herself to the wall. She could hear a pair of feet walking softly in her direction, almost like the owner didn't want to be heard. She held her breath as the person came nearer and nearer, but suddenly the footsteps stopped. The ground vibrated in a familiar pattern, and she let out her breath.

"Ready?" she whispered as the person came into view and she stepped out of the shadows.

"Yeah, let's do it." 

They made their way further down the corridor, towards the hatch of the Jeffries tube. Quietly, the newcomer bent down to open the hatch, as the other stood guard, eyes drifting back to where they came from and then forward. Suddenly the one opening the hatch let out a sigh, making the other snap back to attention. They had some difficulty in crawling inside the tube and sealing the opening behind them, but it was expected. It was normal that someone their size had problems going in and out of the tubes. 

After many twists and turns, they came to a ladder leading downwards.

"Is this the one?"

"Yes, it should lead straight to the store room." 

Knees aching, they began the climb down, each step another one closer to their goal. Their hands were getting clammy and suddenly she slipped, but caught herself before falling. The other one cursed loudly, forgetting a second that they were to be silent.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes. Fine," she muttered below her breath, trying to get control over her breathing and the adrenaline rushing through her veins.

Another curse. "I almost thought you'd fall down and bring me with you. The thought isn't very appealing."

"No shit." She took a deep breath. "Ok, we can go on now."

They continued downwards, each of them edgy and more careful. It was almost like they expected someone to discover them at any time. _Like if anyone is in the Jeffries tube at this time of night_, she thought and almost grinned. _Except us of course. What a picture we must make!_

Finally, they could step of the ladder and go on further through the tube, once again down on their knees. It was beginning to get very tiring, with the extra weight and all. Some day she would kill the one who put her in this situation! The other one cursed in front of her.

"What is it?" she whispered.

"My knees feel like hell! I swear that the first thing I'll do when I get back is to rebuild all the Jeffries tubes so you can walk upraised and don't have to crawl like this!" Her lips twitched slightly, but then she remembered her own knees. _Maybe that's not such a bad idea._

After what seemed like forever, but was merely just five minutes, the one in front of her came to a halt. Waiting for the other one to open the hatch, she tried not to sigh in frustration. They really needed to get there NOW! She couldn't take all this waiting any longer! 

Just as she was to offer her help, the hatch opened and her partner-in-crime moved out quietly. A few seconds passed, then she heard the other telling her the coast was clear and she could come out now. She hastily climbed out of the opening and stood up, glad to be able to stand at last and surveyed her surroundings.

The room was darkened, and she could only see outlines of the furniture and equipments spread around. She looked over to where her partner was already crouching low before a cupboard, wrist-light on. It was smart thinking to bring along that one. If only she had remembered to bring hers. But she hadn't been able to as a certain someone was already in her way, and too suspicious for her.

She padded over to her companion, the thought of finding what they were looking for burning freshly and determinedly in her head. 

"Any luck?" she asked as she manoeuvred herself down beside the person. The only answer she got was a curse. She grinned.

"I'll look in the other cupboards. It must be here somewhere and I don't think he's keeping it in a safe." The other one snorted at her joke as she walked hunch-backed towards the other end of the room.

Two minutes passed. They were beginning to get restless. It should have been here! They were sure of it!

When another five minutes had passed with no luck at all, no hint as to where it was, they were both cursing. They had looked through all the cupboards, drawers; whatever could contain the thing they were craving. Now they sat slumped against the wall between two benches, muttering curses and clenching fists in frustration. They weren't getting anywhere.

"I bet _they_ had a hand in this," her companion spat ominously.

"Poor man, they probably talked him into hiding it." She drew a deep breath. Then an idea popped into her head. "Wait! Since the replicators in our quarters doesn't work, maybe we could try those here! Surely, they can't have fixed that without us noticing the logs." They exchanged grins. Maybe they would get what they wanted after all.

Quickly, they stood up and began moving out of from behind the benches, excitement filling them. They crossed the open space hastily before crouching down before the replicators.

It didn't take them long to discover that the replicators had been turned off, but her partner wasted no time as she bent down and removed the panel in the light from her wristband.

In just a matter of minutes, she had the replicators up and functioning normally, and both grinned, obviously very proud of themselves. It was time. Muttering, she made her command. The blue shimmering was over in seconds, but the result sent water into their mouth and a victorious feeling. At last, they had made it.

Taking the items carefully into their hands both grimaced as they sat down and leaned back against the wall.

"Well, we did it," she said proudly. The other just nodded, the reality of their situation finally sinking in. "I have to admit, I never thought we would come this far. The guys seemed like they had everything under control."

To this they both just grinned, their features lit up by the wristband. Content with what they had accomplished, they brought the items up to their lips, sipping the contents of the mugs carefully. It came out rather quickly.

"Kahless!" her partner cried out, as both spit the beverage back in the mug. "What's this?! HERBAL TEA?!"

"Yes, we thought that would be much better than that addictive and ominous coffee of yours," said a voice none of them had expected but knew all too well, and they shot up at their feet in surprise, dropping the mugs on the floor and spilling the contents out all over the carpet.

"Computer, lights at 85 %." Another voice spoke, too familiar to them to be mistaken.

The lights were turned on, revealing two men about ten feet away from them that had certainly not been there before. Or perhaps, she thought, they had failed to notice them in their search for the hot beverage.

One was fair-haired, tall and always with a twinkle in his eyes as if he were up to another mischief. This time there was no twinkle. The man stared straight at her partner, arms crossed in a stern-parent-stance. Her companion gulped loudly. However, it was the one standing beside him that drew her attention.

He was dark-haired with bronzed skin, a tattoo displayed above his left eyebrow. Often she had found comfort in those strong arms that were now crossed against his chest, often had she cried on those broad shoulders, and often had she drowned in those dark pools of his eyes. Now, they were just emotionless.

The women stared at each other.

"Busted." Her voice was filled with defeat, and so were the other woman's eyes.

"Tell me about it. Now we'll probably never be let out of sight again."

"That, my rebellious and rule-breaking wife, is an understatement." The fair-haired man approached them slowly, the dark-haired following close behind.

"We'll never let you out of reach again. It seems that confining you to your quarters isn't very effective." The tattooed man's tone held an unspoken sentence.

They looked at him in disbelief and fear and spoke in unison. "You wouldn't."

The men couldn't keep the amusement out of their eyes.

"Yes, I would, and I will," the dark-haired man answered. "As temporary Captain, I hereby forbid B'Elanna Torres and Kathryn Janeway any desserts or sweets until you're both declared fit for work by the Doctor." Both women started protesting at once, their voices trying to outdo the other.

"Chakotay, you can't be serious! No sweets? Oh, you're in for some serious punishment, mister!"

"NO DESSERTS? Kahless! I knew I should've stayed away from you since day one, Thomas Eugene Paris!"

The men grinned viciously, and exchanged a look before Chakotay held up his hand and the women reluctantly quieted. Kathryn sent him her famous 'Death Glare', but after being married to this woman for two years, it had no effect on him. The half-Klingon was trying to do the same with Tom, but he didn't blink an eye either.

"And the rule about coffee still stands. I think that trick with the replicator should've taught you that now." He smiled again, showing off his dimples as he thought about the clever idea of Tom's to make the replicator produce herbal tea when someone ordered coffee.

The women's sour faces and defiant stances almost made him laugh outright, but he held back the mirth and walked over to where his wife stood glaring at him. He held out his hand to take hold of her shoulder and drew her into a hug. She stiffened at first, but after some internal struggling, relaxed in his embrace. He kissed the top of her head.

"You know I only want what's best for you?" he whispered softly into her ear. Between them he could feel activity and he smiled, bringing a hand down to her swollen belly. "And Junior, of course." All he got was a muffled muttering against his chest, sounding almost like a curse. He grinned. "Love you too, honey."

Putting his arm around her shoulder, he gently guided her out of the mess hall. As the doors closed, he caught a last glimpse of the Chief Engineer swat Tom before being enveloped in an embrace. He grimaced. Life wasn't always easy with an eight-month-pregnant Captain and a seven-month-pregnant Chief Engineer on board. This was just one of the few night trips B'Elanna and Kathryn had taken together. They really could be stubborn! It was getting slightly annoying, but he knew that it was also their pregnancy hormones that drew them to such desperate measures.

Kathryn mumbled something he couldn't quite catch, and asked her to repeat it. She sighed, leaning into him and drawing strength to walk. The pregnancy was tiring her easily these days, which was the result of the Doctor putting her on medical leave for six months. If he knew Kathryn right, she would be back before four. She spoke again, softly and with a little humour in her voice.

"It seems that our Operation Midnight Stroll was blown off by two harassing and demanding officers who'll find themselves in the brig the minute I'm relieved of this extra weight."

This time he couldn't help it –he laughed out loud, drawing her back into a hug and kissing her forehead. After a while, Kathryn joined in, and the laughter followed them back to deck 2 and their quarters. To the ones oblivious as to what had happened the last few hours, it was just another quiet night in the Delta Quadrant.

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